Dear Bishops of Washington,
I write to you to express my opinions regarding your letter dated December 29, 2024, a letter read in every Catholic Church within the State of Washington during the Feast of the Epiphany. I am writing because I believe that I speak for many who are not inclined to speak up for themselves. I’ll try to keep this brief.
While we all agree on the Christian value for love of neighbor, it doesn’t take much imagination to understand why you released this letter now, ahead of the inauguration of President Trump, a man who has vowed to dutifully execute laws as they are passed down by our Congress and interpreted by our Courts, as has been done since the inception of our country. The previous administration chose to ignore border laws, leading to a humanitarian crisis both at the border and throughout the United States.
If you were truly concerned about those who are most vulnerable, perhaps your efforts would be best spent by helping find and protect the hundreds of thousands of children who have crossed into this country without their parents, and are now unaccounted for. Those children, as well as many poor and compromised women, are undoubtedly victims of sex trafficking and horrific abuses.
It takes very little digging to understand the motivations for the Catholic bishops in the United States regarding their stand on immigration. The USCCB has been culpable in causing the crisis that we have today. A very simple search shows that the USCCB has been the recipient of nearly HALF A BILLION DOLLARS since 2008 in federal grants, the majority of which earmarked by the Department of Health and Human Services. Look it up yourself - https://www.usaspending.gov/search/?hash=8a29f4ab1d8e43f188e845ad22d03ae8.
We can all agree that the US immigration system is in need of an overhaul. As it so happens, our education system is also in need of an overhaul, as well as our health care system, our department of transportation, and several dozen other state and federal systems and agencies. By reading this letter in every church, you must have looked to sow even greater division among the faithful. The majority of Americans have spoken: we are a country that must maintains laws. I don’t remember a similar letter read four years ago standing in solidarity with the hundreds of thousands of unborn and newborn children who would be slaughtered thanks to “pro choice” legislation from the Biden Administration. For the record, I (like so many others) continue to partner with Salesian Missions, Unbound, and Maryknoll (along with many other fine Catholic organizations) who choose to help people without leading them on a treacherous path across the Darién Gap.
Sadly, the Church of Western Washington letting the faithful down is no surprise. What was a surprise was that Bishop Daly signed his name to the letter. For Paul Etienne and the rest, I really expect no better. Paul has never attempted to reconcile with the people of Western Washington when he blatantly ignored our Doctrine of Faith and fired archdiocesan employees for not getting vaccines. Paul capitulated to the State, and has shown zero signs of bringing people back together. I don’t suppose we will see Paul inviting any migrants or refugees to stay with him at his multi-million dollar house overlooking Lake Washington. But Bishop Daly, I have much respect and admiration for how you have held the line over in Spokane. I sincerely hope that you realize that hitching your wagon to Paul and Joseph will almost certainly lead you down the wrong path.